I Hate to Break it to You

Spoiler Alert: Maybe there SHOULD be a Creationati.

Maybe there are writer creators so revered/talented/influential/wise/illustrious that they should be labeled such.

Maybe (tell me it's not true!) Vocal is missing out a revenue stream or a badge opportunity or whatever in NOT having such a designation?!?

But the fact is: there isn't such a thing.

In the words of the 46th President of the United States: 'Let me be clear'

Side note: I can't stand that opening. It's like 'Let me be honest with you' aka 'I gotta be honest..' Because up until that time in the conversation it's very likely that (certain people aside) I ALREADY thought you were being honest. Then you go and start with that opener and my mind is no longer preoccupied with what you are saying. No. Now it is thinking back on what you've already said and wondering if what you said was true or a lie. So- really; not helpful. And maybe that's why the U.S. is in such a mess? To much clarity?

Anyways: Let me be clear: There is no Creationati. (I understand there is a Cliterati... but most likely it will be difficult [although not hard-hard IYKYK] to find it... OK- just checked: although there is a band by that name that isn't what I meant. Again; IYKYK. You, too, can locate the Cliterati if you are motivated enough to search. Persevere!)

A perfectly normal event transpired this week, and I was stunned- STUNNED!- by something I saw: this label attached to a profile, along with a wonderful linked-list of Vocal creator-writers. 'CREATIONATI'.

For goodness sake.

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Disclaimer:

Would I choose those people to form together and ascend to the lofty yet undefined heights of a future Creationati? Why yes; yes I likely would include these fine folks.

They are supportive, talented, imaginative, prolific, and enthusiastic people, valued members of the Vocal community with which I interact. They strive for transparency, authenticity, and personal growth.

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I have questions:

• Were they consulted about this illustrious team name?
• Were they informed about their inclusion?
• Do they get an enameled pin, t-shirt or TOTE BAG?
• Am I salty about not being included? (I dunno. Maybe equally peeved by my absence and relieved that I'm not included in what could be seen as an endorsement of either the nomenclature or the person's work that created it. I'm pretty picky about what and who I endorse. When you are my tribe it's pretty much forever. [Miss you, Tom])
• How would this be seen by a new Vocal creator-writer? Motivating? Exclusionary?
• Is there a quota of writing that would allow someone to join this group-that-doesn't-really-exist?
• Do they get a monogrammed HAT? (I mean- hats are nice, right? And with global warming they could really come in handy...)
• Could I PAY to be a Creationati and get the ability to properly space my poetry on the Vocal platform? (Because- now work with me here- wouldn't that be AWESOME? Like it Ctrl/Enter moved down immediately below the previous line instead of making another paragraph? Like the way most online writing programs work? Like- that would be worth the superiority, the better-than-thou-ism, the slight additional fee to our yearly Vocal+ membership... and maybe we could get a HAT out of the deal... or a nifty badge or background color on our Vocal profile! Yeah- the background color and the ability to space our work as we envision it! And a HAT!)

Could we work with the name, though, Vocal? I understand, of course, that the actual VOCAL has NOTHING to do with a random content creator making up a name and linking the profiles of people (many of which I know... though, as I may have mentioned- I am not included in the group but that is neither here nor there... what did Groucho Marx say anyway? "I don't want to belong to a club that would accept me as one of its members"? [ But--- if a HAT was involved.. }

Where was I?

Oh yes- the name. 'Creationati' isn't something I would associate with this... this thing. Especially not with these people. The similarity- unintentional, surely!- to the Illuminati is just too, too, well. It just doesn't describe these folks.

The illuminati claimed, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, to be 'unusually enlightened'. Further in the definition: 'the source of the “light” was viewed as being directly communicated from a higher source or due to a clarified and exalted condition of the human intelligence.'

That definition does disservice to the discerning, talented, and wonderfully human beings those so designated in that profile are known to be.

And even if there WAS a HAT involved (and I can't image there would be.... although Vocal; perhaps that could be worked into the next update for an entirely reasonable fee and the superpower to format our work with self-designated spacing?) there's room for everyone on the Vocal platform for people creating and writing original, and genuine, content. No clubs needed.

Vocal is for Everyone.

So it is written. So shall it be.